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Facebook Home available in Canada today

Facebook's Home is available for download, but there’s no word on when a pre-loaded device could be available in Canada

A Facebook employee holds a phone that is running the new "Home" program during an event at Facebook headquarters during an event at Facebook headquarters on April 4, 2013 in Menlo Park, California. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

Home, Facebook Inc.’s family of apps for Android, is available to Canadian users.

Described as a “launcher” by observers, Home automatically starts up when users turn on their phones, meaning there’s no need to start a Facebook app.

Home is available for download in Canada on the Google Play store; it was made available Tuesday afternoon.

U.S. users were able to download Home and purchase preloaded devices starting last week. Facebook has partnered with Taiwanese manufacturer HTC and AT&T to release the first preloaded model, called First, in the U.S.

There’s no word on when a pre-loaded device could be available in Canada.

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Analysts have said that putting the social network, and potentially its advertising, front and centre is a worthy experiment to increase mobile-use and opportunities to generate revenue.

“And that presents the biggest obstacle to success for this experiment: Facebook’s objectives and users’ are once again in conflict,” Ovum telecoms analyst Jan Dawson said earlier this month, following Facebook’s Home announcement.

But he said Home also has selling points for users, noting it will become easier and faster to message and share information including photos.

Home’s functions include “coverfeed,” which keeps Facebook news scrolling through the phone’s locked screen, with quick access to “comment” and “like.” For quick messaging, avatars popup even when the user is doing something non-Facebook related on their phone.

Bloomberg reported this week that Facebook is in talks with Apple and Microsoft about developing versions of Home for their operating systems.

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